enthusiast

If you do a search you will see that many Rennlist members paid MSRP for their new 2007 997 GT3 RS. As 'mooty' and others have pointed out the current economy dictates the market value on these used cars. As with other models from Porsche, most (not all) options on a GT3 RS have little value on the used car market.

Some Porsche dealerships do not want a new GT3, it only drives the value down on new and used GT3 they have in their showrooms.

PogueMoHone

The RS should always command a premium. That is, until Porsche makes the RS moniker a part of the regular line up.

If the 997.2 update is made available in the RS version (which I think won't happen) then the RS values might decline. However, if it is only available in a PDK version the 997 version will hold too. (6 Speeds being rarer).

The GT3 is a great car, but it will never be an RS, and anybody who tried to rationalize the $17K price difference (and maintain the RS wasn't worth it) made a horrible mistake... if Porsche is true to their roots

Complicated and anybody's guess, but time and effort spent learning to drive any of the current GT3 models will be well rewarded with future models.

The next Porsche is always the best one. In the meantime keep the RS if you have one; and if you have to sell it then MSRP is still in the ballpark for a well cared for car.

Like always, just an opinion.

Wayward

I appreciate your opinion Pogue, but I will respectfully disagree.

Kind of like the critics who still state that the AZ Cardinals don't belong playing in the Superbowl. (The fact is that they are). Also kind of like a Ferrari losing to a GT3 Supercup. Fact is....etc.

To further that thought, who needs the best Hans device, the best shoes, the best helment, the best gloves, the best suit...? Perhaps better driving is not the point. Perhaps it's, ahem, better ownership? Better garage queenship?

The GT3 is -- at Porsche pricing levels -- a bargain (in other words, a relative statement). It is NOT that much different from the RS. Wider track, lw flywheel? Please.

For drivers, that $17K buys a whole lot of tires, perhaps 50% of a racing country club track membership, and much less attention. Period.

That wider track is nice, but appreciated by just how many professional drivers here looking to shave .001 off their lap time? Compound that with the temporary, fleeting nature of that .001 of such a vehicle -- there will be better in the near future (it's not an appreciating asset, much less investment).

This is not to say that for those that can afford it (without opportunity costs) it's not a worthwhile expenditure. But bottom-line speaking, the GT3 is better than 95% of those fortunate enough to drive it. Just MHO.

Please.

340Elise

I absolutely agree that the $17K price difference is worth it for the RS; just simply for the rarity and therefore higher demand for the car. Buuuuuuuuuuuut, your statement is not fair since the price difference between the regular GT3 and RS was much greater because the RS is more rare and is a special car. I realize that some were able to purchase either a GT3 or an RS at MSRP and spec them how the want, but that was not the norm. I was not able to get an RS at MSRP; if I could have, I would have done so. It would be more fair to say that the AVERAGE price difference between comparably equipped GT3's and RS's was closer to $40K. And if you look at the current resale values between the two cars, it is at least that much if not more.

As for the GT3 being a great car that will never be an RS.........if you mean based on current resale values, then I would agree. But if you are talking about performance, then your definition of a large performance difference is a lot different than mine. Putting resale aside (and exclusivity; which I could care less about anyway), then my main draw to the RS is the lack of a sunroof, which is how all 997's come standard in Germany. Luckily anything can be fixed, and very soon my inferior GT3 will be without a sunroof, and will finally weigh in at 2,7XX lbs with one or two gallons of gas in the tank! The XX value will probably be 85 or more, but at least it will be under 2,800 lbs!!!

NJ-GT

Some of the reasons I think the RS will command a premium for longer

- There are close to 1,000 997 GT3 in U.S. and just a hair over 400 997 RS.
- GT3 doesn't appeal to collectors, RS does
- Wide body normally aspirated 911 have better resale than the same car with a narrow body. Turbo look from the 80s, the 964 wide body, the 993 Carrera S and 4S, the 996 C4S, the 997 C4/C4S
- GT3 had an open top

The Mk2 997 GT3 is showing up in pretty much production stage on the spy pictures. The car is a narrow body 997 with a narrower GT3 RS style rear wing. No news yet of a GT3 RS. Perhaps we have to wait 2 years to see another RS.

Carlos993

I agree that the RS badge will always carry a premium, but I generally agree with Wayward's points. When I chose my car I knew it was going to be a road (and not track) car, so the practical and comfort factors favored the GT3, with largely comparable driving dynamics to the RS. The (reduced) attention issue also favored the GT3, while the pricing issue was a relatively minor one for me, especially as it would probably be easily recovered in case of a sale.

I also drive a 993 4S and a 993 RS. I feel that the differences between the RS and non-RS for the air cooled cars is huge (have also driven the 964s) compared to the difference between the 997 GT3 and 997 GT3 RS. I do not think the historical price differential between RS and non-RS will be maintained, but there will always be a premium. I have not experienced the difference for the 996 cars.

SpeedGeek

I currently own a 996 RS. I previously owned a 996 GT3 Mk-I and then a Mk-II before getting my RS. I have also driven the 997 GT3 and RS quite a lot.

The difference in feel between the GT3 and RS is bigger for the 996 version than for the 997. However, in both versions I think most of the difference comes down to the LWFW. Put a LWFW in a regular GT3 and the subjective difference in feel to the RS becomes very small indeed. Unless a few tenths on the track are important to you, the GT3 v RS price difference is ridiculous.

However, the wide look, big carbon wing, racy graphics and relative rarity of the RS gives them an appeal over the regular GT3. The RS may be $17k more desirable, but it is not $17k better.

Having already owned an RS for 2 years before the 997 version was released, the novelty of RS ownership had worn off and I never bothered to upgrade to the 997 (the 996 is actually more fun IMO). But if and when I do buy a 997, I would be very happy with a regular white GT3 as long as it has bucket seats and a LWFW. I should mention that the GT3s we get here do not have sunroofs. And the RSs have buckets, cages and plastic rear windshields.

TRAKCAR

Well said!

+1 I am perfectly happy with my GT3, and if the RS did'nt exist it would be the ultimate. But since it does I need one. I don't care about residual value, collectors etc. I just want to drive the snot out of it.

To me the RS is 15K worth more than a comparable GT3, but that is MY value, if it happens I am trading in, if not than not.

///Mous3

Especially if the 997 MKII have no RS version.

mooty

i have both rS and non RS 997gt3's.
both tracked. both had 15k miles plus.
the two cars do not drive the same.

at MSRP, the RS is the better buy bar none. if you have to pay over for RS, then story changes.

a lot of GT3 owners are changing roof skins, LWFW, rear control arms and a few other things. once you do all that, you are very close to RS price (assuming again msrp).

so the bottom line is if you can get either car new at msrp, buy the RS.
if you pay over for RS, the dealta can easily > 50k, then GT3 may be better value.
used car prices cannot be used to compared the two cars. there are too many variables due to emotional attachment and market behavior.

PogueMoHone

Since the original thread was about market value, lets review that. Most people I know paid MSRP for each car.

Approximate MSRP (both with ceramics and reasonable options):

GT3 RS $140K
GT3 $123K

Current Retail (recent) Market:

GT3 RS $140K
GT3 $100K

It would seem (to me) based upon the above that the RS was worth the $17K premium. Since a GT3 buyer has lost $23K and the RS buyer is at break-even, opportunity cost notwithstanding.

db_gt3

This will not always be the case. Give it another year or so. There will be a new GT3RS, and it will be superior to the 997 GT3RS. The hysteria over the NA GT3RS is still in full swing; but can anyone really expect to keep driving a car and have it's value never go down?

iLLM3

Triple black GT3 RS with 1800 miles 137k buy it now on ebay.. I couldn't believe my eyes as I thought wow that's cheap, very enticing!!

Alan Smithee

And with the difference between the current 997GT3 and GT3RS so slim, there is an excellent chance...in fact I'd bet on it...that the standard 997GT3.2 will be more powerful (DFI), have better handling (further development of PASM), and be lighter (lighter motor, GT2 sport buckets) than the current GT3RS.

The only things the current RS will have that can't easily be duplicated are the moniker, wide body, last of an old generation of motors, lack of stability control, and no sunroof (maybe). It won't necessarily be a better car. RS values will drop even if there isn't another RS (but I'm sure there will be).

Yargk

I don't know about lighter, but I'm certain that the standard 997.2 GT3 will be faster than the 997.1 RS. Furthermore the difference between the two would be much greater than the difference between the 997.1 RS and GT3.